Oregon

Post 37

Just as quick as the monsoon weather rolled in for the PCT Days festival weekend, did it roll out the following day. Following it’s lead we also rolled out tracking our schedule further South through Oregon before eventually making our way into Northern California. But prior to exiting the great Beaver State of Oregon, first we had to make our annual visit to Bend where at least once a year we show up on our friends doorstep. With less than 48 hours notice they always welcome us in with a cold beer and we reminisce about good times and old friends from our Yellowstone days.

In the shadow of the imposing Sisters volcanic mountains, the four of us tried our hand at maneuvering a stand up paddle board through the crystal clear waters of Hosmer Lake. Glacier fed waters drain into this shallow body of water that seems utterly out of place. If I could set aside or ignore the dominating volcanoes in the distance and the chilly water, if someone were to have randomly placed me in this alluringly beautiful wilderness I would have sworn I was somewhere in the tropics, minus the palm trees of course. One thing for sure is that central Oregon would not have been my first guess. The vibrant flora consisting of golden variations of tall grass along the banks of the channels and lake blend into the green and red tinted lily pads that also cover the shallows. The translucent still water revealed large lake trout rushing under us as if they were in a hurry to get to a more perfect place than this, as if one existed. Ranging from an emerald green to azure or aquamarine, the color of the water spanned this idyllic desirable spectrum of hues one associated with paradise.

Leaving our friends and Bend behind with still a day left to make it to Redding California for our next show, we figured it would be great to view the landscape from atop one of these volcanic mountains. Mount Bailey sits at 8,375 feet towering above Diamond Lake, across from Mount Thielsen and a short distance from Crater Lake. At a short but steep 2.6 miles and 2200 feet to the top we set off through the pine forest and pumice. Not seeing another soul on the trail the vastness of this Oregon wilderness consumes us. I have a tendency of living in the now, especially when immersed in wilderness, so as of right now Oregon is my favorite place in the world. Becky laughs when I say this, and I can read the expression on her face, saying yeah right next week when we are in Joshua Tree National Park you will be saying the same thing about that area.